oral herpes

[dlm420]

ok i am really scared because i think around 1 month ago me and my friends were smoking my hooka. I later found out that one of the people had herpes. I am very scared. Is there anyway i can check if i have it. I also have braces and i am a wrestler so i get my mouth cut open a lot. I have had no bumps but or sores that are big on the outside of my lips but how big do they become if you get this std. I am just really scared i have this . Will you please tell me the symptoms of it?

[Sclave]

i think i might have oral herpes and i'm freaking out.  i realize its very common but the fact that its looked at with extreme distaste is freaking me out.  although i do not have all the symptoms of hsv-1 i'm scared that i'm going to spread it to my girlfriend or my family.  i have a post in this forum describing my symptoms if anyone wants to help me out. please do for the sake of my sanity.

[gracefromHHP]

The reality is - 1 out of every 2-3 folks you've ever kissed in a lifetime or shared your hooka with has had hsv1 orally. it's THAT common.  As adults - it's almost exclusively transmitted thru good old fashioned smooching - not thru sharing drinks, food or hooka's/cigarette's/pipe's etc.  ( it's about 60% of adults in the US have hsv1 orally according to the last NHANES report results - those odds apply to 40 year olds - if you are in your 20's it's probably about 30-40% of your peers have it, if you are in your 80's it's about 80% of your peers have it ).

If you want to know your own herpes status - you want a type specific herpes igg blood test for hsv1 and hsv2 ( not the igm test - it's worthless and shouldn't be drawn ).  Considering you are a wrestler you should know your status anyways because of the incidence of herpes gladiatorum as was mentioned by harry.  There is actually some evidence out there that if you do have hsv1 orally and are a wrestler - you should be on suppressive therapy during wrestling season to protect your opponents from your hsv1 infection.  Unfortunately nothing is standard yet but many teams are implementing testing and treatment.  

I'd be way more worried about pot decreasing your bodies immune system and it's other effects on your body than catching anything from passing it around from person to person.  

grace

[jgirl4356]

I think I have read that 80% of the population has oral herpes (I could be wrong, just check it out), I know that doesn't make herpes great, but it makes it normal.  you can have a blood test (Igg or Igm) to find out.  Just talk to your doctor about it.  I also would worry more about the wrestling mats.  The next time you are smoking with people, try to place your fingers in between the mouthpiece and your mouth, but still getting suction, I know that sounds crazy, but wash your hands after.  Google herpes symptoms.  Andy try not to stress, that could bring on a rash just form stressing.

[happyharry]

I'd be less concerned about catching something from a hooka than from wrestling mats and wrestling. Look up herpes gladiatorum. Your lips won't swell up. You will just get a sore then a scab on your lip in most cases. A HUGE portion of the population has oral herpes, most just dont show symptoms. Do some research...I'm sure your health class will require a report of some sort.